October brings $625K to Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial campaign

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist reeled in another $625,000 last month for his bid to return to the Governor’s Mansion.

The new numbers show a steady stream of funds heading to his campaign and committee accounts — he snagged more than $700,000 in August and reported $655,000 raised in September.

“I remain thankful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from Pensacola to Homestead in our mission to make sure every Floridian’s voice is heard in Tallahassee as we build a Florida that works for all,” Crist said.

“Our current Governor spends his time promoting his own political interests, not the interests of Floridians. Florida needs a Governor with a heart, who is focused on creating good jobs, a cleaner environment, better schools and a better tomorrow. I’m running to bring an end to this regime and put the people back in charge.”

While Crist has been collecting checks, he also has been pounding the pavement. In October, he crisscrossed the state and rolled out a criminal justice reform plan featuring a commitment to full marijuana legalization, voting rights restoration, and gun violence reform.

He also added a few more endorsements to the pile, which is now more than 100 strong and includes the likes of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and Al Lawson, former Lt. Gov. nominee Chris King, and former state Reps. Annie Betancourt and Sean Shaw, who was also the 2018 Democratic nominee for Attorney General.

With the October haul, Crist has about $3.18 million in the bank as he seeks to make a one-term Governor out of Republican Ron DeSantis, who formally launched his reelection campaign on Monday. The incumbent has more than $58 million on hand in his political committee.

But first Crist will need to earn the Democratic nomination. That may be a skosh more difficult now that Sen. Annette Taddeo has made it a three-way race — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is also running.

On Tuesday, Taddeo, who was Crist’s running mate in the 2014 Governor race, touted $650,000 raised in her first report since filing for Governor. Fried, meanwhile, had about $3 million banked between her campaign and political committee at the end of September. Her October report is due today.